Those who have seen Dabba Cartel’s trailer will agree it’s a perfect addition to Shabana Azmi’s filmography that is built on powerful roles. The actor, however, good-naturedly jokes that she had no option but to say yes to the upcoming crime drama. “My daughter-in-law [Shibani Akhtar] has written it and my son [Farhan Akhtar] is producing it. Would I dare say no?” she laughs.
Set in Mumbai, the Netflix series revolves around five homemakers, who run a drug ring. Azmi’s Sheelaben is their leader of sorts. She says, “Jokes apart, I could see that Sheelaben had layers, which are attractive for an actor to unravel. She is an ordinary person leading a nondescript life, but then circumstances make her come back to a life she had given up 30 years ago. She has tasted blood, and starts enjoying the danger.”
Shabana Azmi
Over 25 years ago, the veteran actor had played a gang leader in Godmother (1999), even winning her fifth National Award for her compelling performance. How differently did she play the ruthless Sheelaben compared to Rambhi in Godmother? “To play her differently in Dabba Cartel was the challenge. I needed to resist the temptation of walking on the trodden path, but Sheelaben is a different kettle of fish. Her body language, manner of speaking and the world she inhabits are not like Rambhi’s.”
That she was joined by an eclectic cast—Jyotika, Sai Tamhankar, Nimisha Sajayan, Shalini Pandey and Anjali Anand—only made the experience richer. In a way, Dabba Cartel subverts gender roles as it shows women run a drug ring, which is often considered a male bastion. But Azmi views it differently. “Dabba Cartel is an interesting study of characters, irrespective of gender. They happen to be central characters who make decisions in a system in which they are not usually seen. They are not molls, they aren’t eye candy to gangsters. These women negotiate their way through a world that is dangerous in a manner that is unique.”
For the senior actor, the crime drama will hold a special place as it marks her first collaboration with Shibani. “We have a lovely relationship and count each other as friends. When Shibani asks me to do something, I can’t say no and the production team took advantage of that,” she laughs.
